Updates: ‘donations’
We were very excited to host team members from Target stores throughout the area. We have been working to find a time that works for everyone and finally made it happen yesterday. They did a great job in all three of our main volunteer projects. From sorting medical supplies for distribution to a clinic in Haiti to packing backpacks full of food for children in need throughout Orange County to arranging donations of household supplies for our hundreds of partner agencies. They did a great job, always with a smile. We were very grateful for their help and are looking forward to having them serve with us again soon.
In addition, we are also the recipient of a Target Community Grant for $5,000 which they brought yesterday! Thanks Target for giving your time and support to Bring Health to Kids in Crisis!
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Over the past couple of weeks, Giving Children Hope has been truly blessed by all the food donations, including a truckload of items from Santa Ana Calvary Church. It was delivered by Matt Doan, who told us to expect another truckload this week! All of the items will serve our We’ve Got Your Back students and families. Thank you, Santa Ana Calvary Church!
We are in constant need of food for these students and families. If you would like to donate or host a food drive, please contact Christine Sanchez.
Click the flyer below.
GCHope is excited to announce the launch of a textile recycling program in Southern California, in partnership with American Textile Recycling Services (ATRS).
The brightly colored orange recycling bins feature the Giving Children Hope logo and can be found at convenient locations in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The program is coming soon to Orange, LA and San Diego counties. Bins can be found in front of grocery stores, pharmacies, local shopping centers, malls and parking lots.
Your donations of unwanted clothing, shoes, toys and household textiles provide funding and resources for programs at GCHope. So clean out your closets and look for these textile recyclers in your neighborhood.
To find a recycling bin near you:
Please call the ATRS 24-Hour Hotline at 866.900.9308 with your address and/or zip code. Or email: dmorris@atrsonline.com
Retail stores, churches, schools and shopping centers can host a bin. For more information, please email host@atrsonline.com or visit ATRS’ website: http://atrscorp.com/our-neighborhoods/california/ and follow them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ATRSCA.
We received an update from Spirit of America, where Chrissy Burbach, the Afghanistan Field Representative for SoA,travelled to a clinic there. Giving Children Hope provided boxes full of medical supplies in an effort to fill the gap between medical centers and supply stock in Afghanistan. Medical supplies ranging from exam gloves and cotton swabs to maternity kits and orthopaedic braces, were received by soldiers with the 2-17 Field Artillery stationed in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar last month. These supplies will ultimately help aid the residents in the area as well as Spirit of America in offering assistance to the clinics in the district. Many medical centers in the area constantly run short of basic supplies needed to treat patients, so the shipment will greatly aid the staff in treating patients more effectively. We are looking forward to working with Spirit of America on many more projects,and we would like to thank our troops who are in Afghanistan to help!!
What began as a sewing ministry in 1977 has transformed into an organization that strives to supply for the needs of the church body. That is why Love-Lift Ministry’s partnership with Giving Children Hope (GCH) is a perfect match! Founder, Marilyn Kunde explains that Love-Lift focuses on creating personal care bags, which are assembled by volunteers to meet the needs of specific age groups and gender. Once the bags are filled, the items are shipped overseas or sent with short term missions teams and distributed to the needy in small villages and churches around the world. Originally, the organization filled stockings for homeless children at Christmas time, akin to the methods of Saint Nicholas. Now, the ministry has grown significantly with eager volunteers and kind donations from individuals and partners. In 2008, Love-Lift Ministries provided for 8,000 people of all ages. Partnering with GCH has given Love-Lift Ministries the means to strive in their benevolent program.
The wonderful family at the Dhont Family Foundation just offered Giving Children Hope a $30,000 matching grant for We’ve Got Your Back!
We need your help! You have the unique opportunity to double your impact and feed more homeless children in Orange County! We need to raise $30,000 to help us receive the matching grant!
Make sure you make your online donation at “www.wgyb.org” in order to double your donation. Your support will be matched, dollar-for-dollar by the Dhont Family Foundation! You may also mail or deliver donations to the offices at 8332 Commonwealth Ave., Buena Park, CA 90621. Please make checks payable to Giving Children Hope with “WGYB” in the memo.
For the last two years you helped us match Dhont’s $25,000 matching grant and we know we can meet this goal together, too. In total, Dhont donated $50,000 to We’ve Got Your Back! Giving Children Hope is grateful to the Dhont Family Foundation for their contribution and dedication to Orange County’s homeless children.
We’ve Got Your Back is our weekend nutrition program created by Giving Children hope for elementary students in the Orange Unified School District who have been identified as “homeless” under the McKinney-Vento act.
The Dhont Family Foundation was founded in 1998 and helps fund local projects in Southern California.
The talented gentlemen of Men Alive, the Orange County Gay Men’s Chorus, asked their audience members to participate in raising funds and product for Japan disaster relief.
During their shows, audience members brought relief items and money to help aid in disaster relief efforts. The response was wonderful!
See the video of Men Alive stopping by the Giving Children Hope facility to present the donations.
Thank you so much, Men Alive!
There are a lot of changes going on at Giving Children Hope: Programs are growing, staff is changing; and through it all, God is faithful.
As a small staff, friendships are easily built here. So when a staff member moves on it is a bittersweet time. As some of the staff members are moving onto marriage, to graduate school or onto the private sector, we wish them well. We pray they will continue to stay in God’s will and be blessed. They are leaving the organization stronger than it was before. In fact, every person who has been a part of the GCHope family has been integral to the building of this organization.
And of course the most important part of this organization: You. We thank you for being faithful to Giving Children Hope. We know God has great plans to use this organization to complete His work here.
You will see new blog postings here from various staff and community members. We will continue to keep it current with the happenings of GCHope and its partners, keeping an open dialogue with the community.
Keep checking the web site for new changes that are coming and see how God is growing this place!
Each quarter I attend networking lunches hosted by “Westmont College.”:http://www.westmont.edu/ Our Orange County networking group is growing and today Andrew Cathy, grandson of the founder of “Chick-fil-A,”:http://www.chick-fil-a.com/#home was our speaker.
I have to admit that it hasn’t been that long that I have been aware of Chick-fil-A but I am a fan. Not only is their food fresh, they seek to do good with their business.
If you don’t know much about them, they have 1,500 stores in 38 states. They are credited with inventing the chicken sandwich and for developing the concept of having food available in malls. They did this first in 1967 and they were the only food business outside of Piccadilly Café. They also happened to be the inventor of the chicken nuggets.
Their system-wide sales have reached $3.2 billion!
__Clearly they have a successful business model but what is so impressive is how they have chosen to implement biblical principles even when it might not seem like a smart thing to do.__ For instance, the company has a long-standing policy that they would be closed on Sundays. Now, when you have a business in a mall and you choose to be closed on a Sunday, you are taking a risk. However, from the beginning they wanted to honor the Sabbath and decided that if they needed to be open 7 days a week to sell chicken then they would find something else to do. As it turns out, they sell more chicken in 6 days than most of their competitors can sell in 7.
When asked about their success, Andrew gave three points
First, he said they were built on solid biblical principles
Second, they partnered with others through franchises and provided all of the real estate needed. This provided the relationship and talent that was needed to expand.
Third, their food was always fresh and fast.
**One of the things that struck me was the fact that they seem to genuinely care about each and every customer.** They want their employees to be sensitive that those waiting in line for chicken might have had tragic news so you should treat everyone well. As a matter of fact, the back of their business card has two sentences.
To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.
And
To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.
They are taking the principles of Matthew 5:41 and trying to be a model in providing service to their customers.
So that was my lunch learning more about Chick-fil-A. I’m a fan of businesses who treat their employees well and who give back. Chick-fil-A does both. They also have really good chicken.
To celebrate their son Grant’s first birthday, Bobby and Esther Kim planned and hosted a beautiful “Curious George” themed party where donations were given to support GCHope! We would love to thank the Kim family for their generous donation of $800 that will support our local “We’ve Got Your Back” program that serves many homeless children!
Check out the thoughtfully planned party “here”:http://mybridestory.blogspot.com/2010/02/curious-grant-turns-one.html!
